Navigation systems can be embedded in cars, trucks, buses, and other vehicles. The navigation systems can advise the operator, and any other occupants of the vehicle, about an optimal route from a current location to a destination. The destination is usually specified before a trip starts. Voice prompts about required maneuvers, e.g., turns and lane changes, etc, are usually given at the correct times, and this can significantly reduce the cognitive load and distractions of the operator by minimizing the need to locate traffic signs, and remember the route. In this capacity, vehicle navigation systems also act as safety devices that can significantly reduce the risks of accidents.
Many vehicle navigation systems offer additional actions, such as requesting information about points of interest, adjusting thermal environments, operating entertainment devices, dialing telephone numbers, customizing graphical output such as maps in a variety of ways, e.g., zoom in and out, switching between 2D and 3D maps, align the map orientation with the direction of travel or with a compass directions, etc. It is also possible to change the intended destination. All of these additional actions typically require interaction with the vehicle navigation system while operating the vehicle. This interaction can increase the risk of accidents by orders of magnitude.
One lengthy interaction is setting a different destination. This requires specifying multiple components, e.g., country, state, city, street, number, etc., each of which needs multiple keystrokes on a keypad or multiple touches on the user interface. Typically, these interfaces are relatively small, and are located out of the dominant line of sight for the operator. As a result, such systems can be significant safety hazards, defeating one of their original purposes, to reduce distraction and risk of accidents while driving.
Manufacturers of vehicle navigation systems are addressing this problem by carefully organizing, the available actions using a sequence of menus, such that the most often used actions can be specified with a minimal number of interactions.
For example, some vehicle navigation systems have a dedicated HOME item on a top-level menu. The HOME item can be preset to, e.g., the address of the home or work place of the operator. Similarly, a preset CALL HOME item can dial the most frequently dialed telephone number.
While such careful design of the available menu sequences can significantly shorten the number of keystrokes needed to complete an interaction, those designs do not consider a significant variability between the relative frequency of use of individual actions for different operators, nor are the designs specific to the current context of the vehicle and operator, as described by, e.g., location, time of the day, state of the engine, and inside environmental conditions, etc. In many situations, a large number of the available actions are either not applicable or not likely, for example, it is not likely that the HOME item would be used when the vehicle is at its home location, and the top-level placement of this button could better be used for some other action. The personalization of the user interface of vehicle navigation systems is one possible approach to optimizing the user experience and minimizing the risk of accident.
Muzina et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 8,386,173, describe a method for automatic adjusting a level of map detail based on the vehicle speed, thus minimizing the number &times the operator zooms in or out of the map.
Liu et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,349,257, describe a system for personalizing the user interface of a vehicle navigation device in advance of a trip, for example at a vehicle rental agency. That personalization can be useful by eliminating interface elements that are not necessary for a particular trip. Pre-defined destination points are likely to eliminate distraction en route.
Evan et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 8,078,359, describe a method for the personalization of the user interface of a vehicle navigation and infotainment system by means of interacting with a touch screen. However, that general approach to personalization requires extra time and advance planning, and is only operator-specific, and not context-specific.